International students worth more than $2b

Earnings from international education have cracked the $2 billion mark for the second year running, allaying fears the industry is faltering.

The number of foreign students coming to New Zealand has dropped, as has the annual foreign exchange earnings, according to figures released by umbrella organisation Export New Zealand.

But they are relatively small dips after a year which left many in the industry predicting doom and gloom following high-profile language school closures and bad publicity in the key Chinese market.

The foreign exchange earnings for 2004 were $2.18 billion - a little less than the record $2.21 billion set last year.

It makes international education the third-largest export earner, behind tourism and dairy products, but ahead of meat, wine and wool.

Education New Zealand chief executive Robert Stevens said the figure underlined the importance of international education.

He said there would be ebbs and flows but international education needed to be developed as a "key element of the economic, educational and social fabric of this country".

The total figure is calculated by combining the amount students pay in tuition fees with estimates of how much they will spend while here.

The total number of foreign fee-paying students dropped from 102,136 to 84,130 but more are now studying at university and pay more, making up for the drop-off in students at language and secondary schools.